A/N: In the original documents… I had little breaks… I marked them with a character that this site doesn't read when you upload your story. So there may be a weird jump here and there. Like… a jump from a scene to another, unmarked. I apologize.

Chapter One: Potions, Prefects, and Propositions

Tahlia and Remus were only one year apart at Hogwarts. Many people didn't even know she went to Hogwarts, or to put it a better way, many people were unaware of the fact that the sister of a certain Remus Lupin went to Hogwarts. She was, by her fifth year, just as tall as Remus and just as awkward. They shared the same light brown hair and the same deep blue eyes under thick, dark brows. To cut a long story short, they were remarkably similar, almost identical.

Until that summer.

Over this short period of time, Tahlia's waist slimmed and the width transferred down to her hips. Her face lengthened, small canyons began to form under her cheekbones, while her hair darkened to the colour of her eyebrows. And then her mother began the humiliation.

"Look at her! She's filling out fantastically… And to think, I thought she'd be awkward forever," her mother pointed out to her father one morning at breakfast. Tahlia's father's ears turned red as he turned to Remus, who was laughing so hard a little trickle of milk fell down from his nose.

"You watch her boy. I don't want her mixing with some too-bold Gryffindor boy, or worse, some slimy Slytherin," Mr. Lupin said sternly to Remus.

"Remus?" Tahlia asked, in the sweetest voice she could muster. She placed her hand on his arm and pulled it back towards her, motioning him to turn away from the window.

Not looking away from the window, Remus sighed. "What, Tahlia?" He understood exactly what her tone meant. She wanted something.

"I think you want to invite me to sit in the same compartment as you this time," she stated matter-of-factly.

"What would give you that impression, after four years of me not asking you to join me and my friends in our compartment?"

"Well... to tell you the truth... I can read minds."

"Ah... Dumbledore taught you, I presume?"

"Actually... I taught him. But I'll ask you to keep that between us. He is a little touchy when it comes to his... shortcomings."

Tightening his lips, Remus turned to Tahlia. Suppressing a laugh, he leaned over in backseat of the car and proceeded to flick her square on the nose.

"OW! You stupid git! That hurt!" Tahlia massaged the tip of her nose between her thumb and first finger.

"Tahlia! Remus! Stop your bickering! I am operating a very dangerous Muggle machine and I do not wish to collide with a tree!" yelled a nervous, deep voice from the driver's seat.

Tahlia looked out through the windows, only to find a large expanse of office buildings and cars bustling by. "I don't see any trees. Sorry, Da, but Remus won't let me sit with him and his friends! I asked very politely and he flicked me for no reas... OW! HE DID IT AGAIN!"

"Remus! Must I remind you how dangerous it is to distract me? I can't concentrate! And… why... well, why can't Tahlia sit with you on the train? Tahlia, don't you usually sit with Lily and Alice anyway? And what about Kimberly?" Mr. Lupin concentrated on the road. Not once did he raise his head while speaking to his children. Small beads of sweat fell down his temple from his hair. Remus turned away and continued to gaze out of his window, eagerly waiting to spot King's Cross Station.

"Well, as you should remember, Lily is head girl, and in that stupid Slug Club, and Alice ... well, Alice is definitely NOT a prefect, but all she does is sit around and snog that Longbottom fellow... I'm surprised they're alive by the time they get to Hogwarts. You'd think after going without air for so long, you'd just shrivel up and conk out." Tahlia stuck her tongue out and feigned gagging as she clutched her stomach. "And Kim... well, you should know we aren't friends anymore."

Remus glared at her from the corner of his eye. He began drumming his fingers against his knee.

"When you say Kim, you do mean the one that went with Sirius don't you?" Remus said as he smiled, pleased with himself. "Dad, she wouldn't have fun anyway. All I'm going to be doing is reading up a bit on my new classes," implored Remus desperately. "Oh, that's right, never mind. She doesn't want to talk to me; she just wants to get a good look at Sirius. You do know she fancies him?"

"I do not! I just... the whole time I sat with Alice on the way back home last year, there was nothing to do but nap. It's just boring. That's all." Tahlia rolled her eyes and turned to face ahead, where she spotted two large, yellow brick arches on either side of a yellow clock tower. King's Cross railway station.

Mr. Lupin parked the car and the three proceeded into the train station, trunks and parcels shrunken in their pockets and smiles upon their faces. They turned the corner of platform nine and three-quarters and vanished into the brick. Mr. Lupin embraced Tahlia. "I will miss you dearie. And don't go getting into anymore trouble. I don't have time to write apologies to your teachers."

"All right, all right. See you, Da. Love you." Tahlia quickly turned and walked slowly to the train as she looked around for someone she knew. Someone she could sit with.

"Why not let her sit with you this once? I'm sure she won't be a bother, right?"

"Wrong. She'll just make trouble. Besides, I have to sit in the prefect compartment for the first hour or so," Remus said as he hugged his father. Before walking off, he felt a tug on his shirtsleeve.

"She won't be much trouble, Remus," Mr. Lupin pleaded. Remus rolled his eyes, then nodded at his father. He turned and jogged to the side of the train and stepped aboard. Walking to the front of the aisle, he came to the door that led to the largest, front-most compartment of the train. The prefect compartment.

Tahlia wandered along the aisle, looking for an empty compartment, when she heard a voice overhead urging passengers to take their seats. Shit. Tahlia ducked into the nearest compartment and sat, or half-leaped, onto the empty bench inside. She looked over at the person sitting across from her. She recognized him instantly. Long, black, dirty hair. Beak nose. Permanent glare. Ah, bloody hell! Not him! Tahlia wrinkled her brow. Of all the compartments in the world!

"Can't you see this compartment is occupied?" the boy sneered.

"I didn't have anywhere to sit. Just ignore me. I'm waiting for my brother to come by and get me anyway." Might as well make the best of this, Tahlia thought, shifting in her seat so that she was sitting directly opposite the boy. She stuck out her hand and smiled eagerly. Not breaking eye contact with the passing landscape the boy clicked his tongue. After a few moments passed, Tahlia spoke. "Well? Don't you want to shake my hand?" Tahlia's smile faded as she pulled her arm back down to her side. "Fine, don't shake my hand. I know who you are anyway." He peered at her through a piece of hair that was obscuring his eyes. "You're Severus Snape. Right?" She waited for an answer but she didn't expect one. She continued, "My brother, Remus Lupin… his friends loathe you." She giggled, but a strong, fierce voice interrupted her.

"It's hard to ignore you when you unceasingly chatter on, listing the people who hate me!" As he shouted this, he turned abruptly in his seat and glared at her. His eyes bored into her, cursing her in every way possible, ripping her to shreds, insulting her very being. She felt like she could cry. His eyes softened at the sight of her bottom lip quivering. Oh great! Now you've done it. Now she'll NEVER shut up. What a stupid girl! "Come on now," the boy said with utter annoyance, "I would rather hear your stupid ranting about the Marauders then your crying. Of course I'd rather hear nothing at all, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen any time soon." He turned back in his seat, folded his arms across his chest and made a screwed up face. Trying to look angry, he turned his head slightly and watched her readjust her sweater and wipe under her eyes. She looked at him nervously and began biting the inside of her cheek as she fidgeted with the little grey buttons on her skirt.

"I didn't mean to insult you. I'm sorry." She looked down at her shoes. "I was just trying to make conversation. I suppose I'm not very good at it." She peeked at him, half expecting to be yelled again, or worse, hexed into the next century. Taking in a deep breath then letting out a hard sigh, she fingered her hair back behind her ears.

"How do you know who I am? Aside from the fact that your brother is friends with those ...scum."

Restraining a giggle, Tahlia thought to herself, first he didn't want to have a conversation, now HE is asking ME questions.

"Well Slughorn... he never shuts up about you. Says you'll be a great Potions master one day. Says you've already surpassed his ability," she spat with a tinge of envy. "Potions is my favourite class, you see, and I've successfully brewed every potion I've been assigned, but I've yet to get an invitation to the Slug Club or any sort of recognition anyway. And you... well, ol' Slug would give his left nut for you to go to one of his stupid little shindigs."

"And how would you know anything about the Slug Club?" the boy mumbled.

"Lily Evans. She told me all about it. I would be sitting with her, but she's
Head Girl, and, needless to say, in the Slug Club, so I don't get to see much of her on the train." Come on Remus! Hurry it up will you!

"You're friends with Lily?" A small flutter erupted inside the boy's stomach.

"Yes. Didn't you know? I see you a lot when Lily, Alice, and I walk down to the lake. They tutor me." She blushed at this embarrassing confession. Now he's going to think that I have no friends and have to hang out with my tutors! Come on Remus! "I have trouble in history, so they help me out a bit. You're in Slytherin aren't you?" He nodded. "I remember seeing you with that handsome blonde boy. Lucius, isn't it?" she smiled to herself.

"You're in Gryffindor, no doubt?" he replied in a shrill tone. He seemed disgusted with the house. That was not unlike many Slytherins though.

"No. I'm a Ravenclaw. See?" she pointed towards the pin on her sweater. "Of course, I wanted to be in Gryffindor, with my brother and his friends, but of course not. Instead I had to live with complete strangers. I still do, I suppose. I'm not really friends with any of the girls in my class or house anymore. I mean, I'm really only friends with Lily and Alice. Even though they are a year ahead of me, we still get along pretty well. Especially me and Lily," she lied. She looked at Severus. He seemed mildly entertained. She decided to continue. He seems to like Potions all right. I guess I should stick to that then, "I'm keen on persuading Lily to tutor me, in the hope that I will finally be invited to that damn Slug Club. Lily took me to the Christmas party last year. I've never had so much fun. But I'd much rather be there on invitation from Slughorn than her," she giggled.

"So, Lily goes to these meetings often does she?" He tried his best to sound impassive.

"Yes, she hates them though. She has a lot of friends and other things to do though. I don't really…"

"Have many friends or other things to do?"

"Both... Neither"

Severus pondered a moment. "Do you have money?"

"Why?" She was confused.

"If you pay me, and it won't be cheap mind you, I may be able to tutor you." A huge smile stretched across her face. "And put in a good word to Slughorn."

Just as he made his offer, Tahlia heard a knock at the door and Remus stepped inside the compartment.

"I've been looking for you everywhere." Remus did a double take at the boy. My sister must be a masochist! Or blind, he thought as he spied the enormous smile across her face. "You can come and sit with me if you'd like."

Tahlia stood up and crossed the compartment, following Remus into the aisle, she turned to close to door.

"Oh, wait." Remus listened as she poked her head through the doorway. "How about Friday? After lunch?" He listened for a response from the boy but heard none. Tahlia shut the door and proceeded down the hall following Remus, an enormous grin plastered on her face.